If you were here for Darwin Day 2008 you know what this is all about; a celebration of Darwin and all that his work has accomplished both during his lifetime and since.

To spur participation from everyone, no matter where they are in the world or how much they write, we are giving away a complete three volume set of The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin which includes an autobiographical chapter from Sir Charles and was edited by his son Francis Darwin, printed in 1887.

It's a terrific addition to any Darwin collection and everyone who participates will automatically be entered in the drawing.

Darwin Day is an international celebration of Darwin's achievements in science held on February 12th, the day that Charles Darwin was born in 1809.
The Darwin Day Celebration started with one event in 1995 and last year there were more than 850 Darwin Day events world-wide. Darwin Day festivities include debates, lectures, essay contests, film festivals and you can even have an "Evolution Banquet" with "Primordial Soup" followed by a "Darwin Fish Fry."
Here we are mostly writing articles but if you have a fish fry, be sure to let us know and we'll link to it.
Have a Darwin Day thing you want to share with readers here? Let us know by putting this code in your article or on your site and we'll link to it from this page:

It will look like this:

Since we carry an ad here but this is a community event, we're going to donate all the advertising proceeds to a worthy cause and you can help decide that also.
We'll put this on a separate server if the traffic gets too high.

If you have an event or activity or will be writing an article on Darwin or his works, leave a comment and we'll include it when this goes out for worldwide syndication.

So let's get going! If you can read them all, please let us know and we'll get you some kind of award; a coffee cup or a shirt or something.

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Julia(the ethical paleontologist) also has a blog on, basically, dirt and she notes that Darwin wrote a lot more than one book, so she celebrates his work with compost. Which you don't see every day.

Dale at Faith In Honest Doubt reminds us that Darwin was not infallible and not a saint - indeed, his idea of natural selection predated Wallace by some 15 years but he only published after Wallace continued to get tantalizingly close from the Malay Archipelago. He even admires Darwin's prose, which also doesn't often happen.

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Julia, The Ethical Paleontologist, much prefers Darwin the younger. And who wouldn't? As an elder statesman he was regarded as a great scientist but as a young man he was an adventurer and a naturalist, hated by no one.

Darwin knew he was on to something by 1837 - and he also knew it could be regarded as heresy. Those lines show in his older pictures.

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How does the homeschooling family at The Voyage celebrate Darwin Day? With primates and cake and beaches. That actually sounds like a good way to spend every day of the year, actually.

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The Humble Woocutter took Sir Charles out for a walk to celebrate his special day. Details of their adventures can be found here.

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Rogue medic gives Ben Stein a science fail, which is nothing new in the science community, but also elegantly notes that Abraham Lincoln made the world a better place by suppressing a revolution and Darwin did so by starting one.

Natural Selection is just one mechanism in the process. Because it's just one process, things can happen even if they are not beneficial and, because Ma Nature sometimes has a sense of humor, things can even go to a weird place on occasion.

I’m currently fighting off a likely Streptococcus infection which I believe I caught on one of humanity’s new-fangled flying pathogen tubes - which I’ve noticed the megacorporations insist on calling airliners. My throat is currently a culture medium, rather than a properly functioning human wind- and food-hole.

So as I drag my ass down to the city offices today, I have a choice. On the one hand, I can decide that Strep comes from god. I can decide that my creator, and the creator of everything, has specially and specifically made an organism that makes its living by attaching itself to the tissues of another organism, causing it pain and suffering, and sucking the life out of it. I can decide that the god who did this is clearly malevolent - which seems to have been the default position of most of the stone-age religions I know about - or I can come up with some elaborate story about how my very nature is tainted by the activities of a concestor stretching back some hundreds of generations; that I suffer because I am evil, and that I am evil because someone ate some fruit thousands of years ago, or something like that.

Or, I can choose evolution. I can choose to believe the evidence that shows that Strep infects my throat not because some invisible sky-god is forcing it do so, but because this strain of Strep has evolved with a set of genes that allows it to take advantage of a convenient culture medium. I can take some comfort from evolution, knowing that the insane superstitious ramblings of my distant - and perhaps more recent - ancestors have nothing to do with the infection I have now; that the universe has not been designed in such a way that it is out to get back at me for something someone else did.

I can also learn from evolution that I had damn well better finish my antibiotics, or I stand a good chance of unleashing a highly virulent, antibiotic resistant strain of germ on my fellow people. Fellow people whom I value, and don’t want to infect. Not because they are the trivial and badly-designed constructions of some allegedly omnipotent sky god, and not because they worship the same sky god that I do (and damn the the ones that don’t), but because they are incredible manifestations of the natural world. They are organisms that I can prove, beyond any doubt, are all related to me. They are also organisms I find special - people, alone in the bushy tangled bank of life, seem to be able to understand the universe we find ourselves in, and people, therefore, have a special meaning for me. Because I value reality.

I can choose between evolution - an understanding that the universe is neutral, and that people and other life is to be valued - or I can choose religion - and believe the universe was made for me, but is now against me, and that only some life, only human life, and only human life I agree with, has any value or meaning.

Because this is the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, I let all of the participants in 2008 know about this year and I discovered that Jeff had died on August 3rd of 2008.

The infections he had talked about in that and other pieces were actually liver cancer.

The central dogma of Molecular Genetics is that information flow is unidirectional: DNA to RNA to PROTEIN. That is, DNA holds the blueprints, RNA is the messenger, and Proteins are the constructed functional units of life.
This dogma seems to hold for most of the species on the planet. From bacteria to humans to insects, the central dogma acts as a unifying theory of life’s architecture. But, there are a few key exceptions.

Natural selection is often much like Goldilocks - an organism's traits shouldn't be too hot or too cold; natural selection likes them just right. In other words, traits are under pressure to remain near an optimum. If they deviate too far, natural selection will not-so-gently prod things back to the center. This phenomenon is known as stabilizing selection.

Of similar importance, who are the three bears of natural selection?

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How Would We Evolve If We Always Opened Beer Bottles With Our Teeth?Imagine a world where the major source of human nutrition was beer. That may sound fantastic to some of you, but now imagine that, in this beer-world, there are no bottle openers and no twist-off caps. To get at the beer, you have to open the bottles with your teeth. Day in, day out, you're opening bottles with your teeth. If the world continued like this for a few thousand generations, how would the human jaw evolve into a better beer bottle opener?

****Another Amazing Fossil: A Giant Tropical SnakeA group of researchers has discovered the fossil vertebra of the largest snake known to date. At an estimated 13 meters (about 42.6 feet) long, this monster, named appropriately Titanoboa, lived in tropical South America about 60 million years ago.

****The Amphibious Ancestors of WhalesIn what is now central Pakistan, an eight-and-a-half foot long, pregnant aquatic mammal went belly-up, and sank to the bottom of the shallow coastal waters. 47 million years later, a huckster by the name of Duane Gish denied that such mammals ever existed:

****What a New Fossil Tells Us About New Zealand's Watery PastA tuatara may look like an iguana, but it's a reptile in a category all its own. Tuataras are most closely related to lizards and snakes, but in some ways they are oddballs among reptiles, with unique characteristics among reptiles, like their affinity for cool weather, their nocturnal lifestyle, a third eye on top of the skull, and vertebrae that more closely resemble those of fish and amphibians than reptiles.

****Yet Another Gene to Create SpeciesYesterday we discussed the discovery of a gene that keeps mouse subspecies from producing fertile hybrid offspring. In other words, a gene that is putting a reproductive barrier between incipient mouse species.

****Hunting for Genes that Keep Species SeparateSpeciation Genetics is, in a sense, an oxymoron. Genetics is the study of heritable characteristics, but the researchers who study speciation genetics are looking for genes that cause inheritance to fail.

****Size Matters for Plants TooReproduction involves some tricky trade-offs for all species, and anyone who has watched a David Attenborough film knows that you can find a wide range of reproductive strategies in nature.

Coffee Break Science BrowsingIt's Friday and time for a coffee break. Looking for more Darwin reading? (If you're already sick of the Darwin Bicentennial, you're in for a loooong year.)

****Putting Evolution in ReverseHow do two populations change genetically when they are subjected to different evolutionary pressures? To answer this question, many intrepid evolutionary biologists have trudged out into the field to painstakingly study wild populations, but in many cases, we can learn more by studying evolution in the lab.

****Primitive Dinosaur FeathersBirds are the modern day descendants of dinosaurs, or as paleontologist Kevin Padian likes to say, birds are dinosaurs. But how did birds evolve from grounded, naked reptiles into plumed aviators?

The second law of thermodynamics states that a natural system will with time become increasingly random. There are, however, two kinds of natural system: those that follow this law and those that don’t. Living systems are of the second kind. Unlike the waves on the surface of the North Sea or an avalanche tumbling down the side of Ben Nevis, living structures ‘have a purpose’ … to survive, to invert the relentless move towards randomness – at least for a while. The brain is arguably the most complicated of these and thus one of the most difficult to describe. What is more, if we are to explain the brain we must first understand the code hidden in its described structure. Here, in celebration of Darwin’s ‘Origin of the Species’, we will talk about what this code might be and how it evolved … but not in the real world. Instead we will talk about the evolution of virtual agents in synthetic worlds and how this may help explain how natural brains halt the perpetual walk to randomness.

Who – Everyone, else why would we help them promote it? The world needs less selfish science media sites, not more.

What – 200 sea turtle sculptures to mark each year since Charles Darwin’s birth (2/12/1809). We will attempt to make 200 sea turtles each one in a 10 ft diameter circle and each circle 16 feet apart in a straight line stretching 1 mile long on the beach near the latest high tide water mark. The idea is watch them disappear into the next high tide thus marking the end of Charles Darwin’s birthday.

When – Thursday February 12, 2009 beginning at noon (Rain or Shine) The 1st high tide is ~9 am Eastern Daylight Saving Time so by starting at noon the tide should take the turtles by dark (2nd high tide at 9 pm DST).

Why – To observe Darwin’s birthday in a free, natural, fun, family-friendly, and non-controversial way! (Not a science vs. religion debate) - this is our favorite part, not taking the opportunity to just smack around religious people. Evolution already won, people. It's time to act like winners.

Rules – Sea Turtle sculptures are to be made of sand and shells only (non- polluting). The best turtle sculpture is the one you help make!

Bonus -Feb. 12 is also the tentative date for the Space Shuttle Discovery Launch and the beach is a great spot to get a good view of it!

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Evolution Matters, a series of evening lectures, will feature Harvard professors discussing evolutionary theory, the impact of Darwin’s work, and their own research. For learners of all ages, two weekend family programs in February will celebrate Darwin’s life and work.
Lectures:

* Darwin at 200: Rethinking the Revolution
* Evolution in the Post-Genomic Age
* Survival of the Swiftest, Smartest, or Fattest? Human Evolution 150 Years After Darwin
* One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin
* An Afternoon with Charles Darwin

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From Robert Olley: Sir Arthur Eddington used delightful evolutionary parables to show how we naturally tend to a Newtonian view, and have such trouble with Relativity and Quantum Theory. Since it's Darwin Year, I would like to relate one of my own, in the form of a conversation between a Tyrannosaurus and a Triceratops.

Comments

Regarding Darwin Day, I will be adding links for events as I get them but if you see some also, just add them in a comment here. This was a big hit last year and there are a whole lot of other groups doing events this time so let's try to get them all some support.

Because writing articles on Darwin and evolution (obviously, blog posts are easy) is a lot of work but is terrifically important in the interests of science outreach, we're going to add in a token to make it even worthwhile: if you write an evolution/Darwin article and use the Darwin Day 2009 badge above, you will be entered in a drawing to win an 1887 copy of the complete three volume set of The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin edited by his son Francis Darwin and including an autobiographical chapter from Sir Charles.

The only other qualification is this has to be real stuff. No posts that are just links to other Darwin Day events or articles; that sort of defeats the point. Otherwise, go for it.

We're also going to donate the advertising revenue from this page to a worthwhile cause so suggestions on organizations that are in the evolution science education arena are welcome also.

In honor of Darwin, last week, a bunch of us have created a Facebook group called Can we find 200,000 by Feb 12 to wish Darwin a happy 200th birthday?

We already have over 100,000 members! Please join us in making our goal and supporting Darwin. We'll be doing a free call for all of the members on Thursday at 1pmET to sing Darwin Happy Birthday and we'll have a couple of guest speakers.

The second law of thermodynamics states that a natural system will with time become increasingly random. There are, however, two kinds of natural system: those that follow this law and those that don’t. Living systems are of the second kind.

This is, of course, a misstatement of the universal and fundamental Second Law of Thermodynamics, and his belief that living systems violate it is false. The only kind of natural system that the Second Law says cannot become more ordered is an isolated system, one that does not exchange matter or energy with an external environment. This does not describe a living organism (not for long!), and so this particular implication of the Second Law in no way applies

Living systems follow the same physical laws as the rest of the universe. Creationists, and Dr. Lotto, think otherwise.

I think you are totally right, living organisms do follow the second law of thermodinamics. Because living organisms exist despite to the second thermodinamics law, one conclusion is that there should be some missing piece of the puzzle, otherwise life would never have appeared. Actually, because life exists and follows all physics laws, we could say that according to physics laws, life must exist.

Another approach, is to consider that life is just an accident, it exists as a result of random interactions, but by the physics laws, it may or may not exist.

I personally prefer the first approach, living organisms are present because the physics laws determined that something like life should exist (I am not a creationist), therefore, there should some missing piece of the puzzle, a physics law still not discovered that explains why life appeared and perhaps how it did.

There will be a big celebration in Minneapolis, MN at the Univ. of MN's Bell Museum on Thursday from 7 - 9 pm, with an after-party. Details here:

The speakers will present in the auditorium from 7 to 8 pm. Birthday cake and refreshments are served after the presentations.
Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday! Part of a world wide celebration, the Twin Cities’ version is at The Bell Museum of Natural History this Thursday night. Join in the fun with cake, drinks and presentations by U of M scientists and educators. They will present funny, outrageous and controversial rapid-fire, media-rich presentations about Darwin and evolution. From the big bang to the human genome, hear the newest research and controversy on evolution and Darwin. The presenters are:

I plan on taking my little cousins to the nearby Royal Tyrrell Museum of Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. They will not only love the dinosaur fossils and all the environments, but they have an excellent demonstration of natural selection. It is a game with light-up butterflies, with colours ranging between Red, Orange, and Yellow, and Orange flowers. the goal is to hit as many of the butterflies as possible while they light up in the various shades. Inevitably there is a lower proportion of orange butterflies caught, and YAY! Natural selection!

PS: Those book are beautiful... I wish I had a blog just so I could try... hmm... I will try adding it here...

Depending on their ages, you might get them Evolving Planet: 4 billion years of life on Earth by Erica Kelly and Richard Kissel for a birthday or Christmas. I'm not proud, I will confess to referring to it many times, but it is written for kids.

I wrote a computer program which uses evolution to create super-difficult Sokoban puzzles from little more than random numbers. It works so well I cannot solve many of them! Getting something from nothing - it's just trial and error repeated a ridiculous number of times, and it works! Thanks, Darwin... http://fruise.googlepages.com/sokoban.html

Your Sudoku solver has a defined aim: solving a riddle given by an external brain. Meaning god defined man as final (or maybe not-final) destination that the evolution had to tend towards.

Evolution would make it the other way: use an algorithm (using random numbers as a part of it too) to change a bundle of numbers (placement, dimensions, order, ...) and see which one is hanged up on the walls of one of millions of mathematicians ;) Then keep that algorithm, continue to modify finer "grains" of the structure and wait again how many of them are liked, ...

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= GOOGLE PROMOTES
= DARWIN'S FINCHES -
= EVIDENCE OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN
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I'm so glad Google used "Darwin's Finches" in their logo since they are evidence of Intelligent Design and not evolution. All the finches have the same DNA/genes, so there is no "evolution" from one beak sized bird to another. Designed in the finch is a regulator in the brain that releases the appropriate amount of protein to cause the beak to grown long or short. The same finch can have either a long or short beak - what an Intelligent Design.

that regulator would be controlled by genes, no? So that means there is a genetic basis for beak length. there we go, natural selection! Besides, we consider the finches to be different species, and some even in different genera.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_finches#Taxonomy

This is actually rather funny. So, there is proof then, that Pinocchio's nose issue is actually a viable genetic involuntary reflex?

I am really curious about the studies that show this. Since regulators in the brain control beak length, can they think themselves to have long noses? Or at the time that the regulator genes control the expression of the length of the beak, which if it is unique to individuals would actually happen in the embryonic stage, is there a hormone that is activated in dry seasons when the birds are developing so that they can develop longer beaks? Is it inactivated during wet seasons? How does it all work? Where did you read this? I am curious and would like some links to the studies.

Experiments have shown that forcing changes in the protein level will cause short-beaked birds to develop long beaks. This says to me, before the birds needed to experience any natural selection, they were already designed with this feature.

Analogy: assume some kind of machinery that creates something. That something is not exactly the same any time, but varies a bit, and then some parts are used (that fit a certain purpose the machinery was built for), and some are thrown away, the machinery creating too many flawed parts is thrown away, and the machines producing "good" parts are kept, get better maintenance and possibly (again random) improvements, etc.

So would you again wonder about "they were designed with that feature"? Well of course birds are designed with the feature to have beads (well that again is a result of evolution if you go one step backwards) with inexact sizes. Natural selection does the rest.

As most of you may already now, Charles Darwin wrote "The Voyage of the Beagle", and it is thus not surprising for people to give him a nickname 'Mr Snoopy'. On a more serious note, I think he is quite insightful about evolution. The poignant changes to his perspective however occurs with the death of his daughter. As a respite, I was reading on a book on Darwin (just purchased) and I chance upon this giveaways on his diaries which I hope to read them. Does this few liners merit your consideration?
Cheerio!